


Demolished

by Ninalb



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: All Zane wanted was to buy some groceries, Angry Mob, Character Death, Citizens hate Zane AU, Cole's the best leader, Guilt, Heavy Angst, It's all the nindroid army's fault, Mild Gore, Right after the end of The Tournament of Elements, Sorry Lloyd, Told from Cole's POV, sadfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 18:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17411828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninalb/pseuds/Ninalb
Summary: They hate him. They fear him. They see the enemy in him.Zane's newly rebuilt and the ninja have just rescued him from Chen's island. However, the citizens of Ninjago are not thrilled to see that their white ninja has come back. A bitter taste has been left in their mouths from the attack of the nindroid army and most of them agreed that it would have been better if Zane just stayed dead. It's all over the news and it's only a matter of time before Zane sees it.





	Demolished

**Intro:**

They hate him. They fear him. They see the enemy in him.

Zane's newly rebuilt and the ninja have just rescued him from Chen's island. However, the citizens of Ninjago are not thrilled to see that their white ninja has come back. A bitter taste has been left in their mouths from the attack of the nindroid army and most of them agreed that it would have been better if Zane just stayed dead. It's all over the news and it's only a matter of time before Zane sees it.

 

* * *

 

 

Cole's sitting with his face almost against the TV with Kai, Nya, Jay, and Lloyd gathered around him. He's frowning as the news reporter prattles off about how dangerous Zane could be. He hears the metallic footsteps of Zane, and he lunges for the remote, switching off the TV right as Zane walking into the room. Everyone's pretending like they were busy doing something, although they're looking at Zane. It's evident from Zane's face that they weren't fooling anyone.

“I already know,” Zane sighs, taking a seat on the couch, “The news is all over the internet. I’ve already gotten several letters telling me that I shouldn’t be on the team. It’s fine if you want to continue watching it.”

Cole doesn't want Zane to see the awful comments being said about him, but he doubts that Zane hasn't already heard them. The teen is connected to the internet. He flicks the tv back on, and the reporter’s voice comes back on, sharp and accusing.

“I’m Gayle here from Ninjago news. I’m out on the streets asking the options of everyday citizens on whether they think that Zane should be allowed to continue being a part of the ninja team. Excuse me, sir, you would mind tell me your opinion about Zane?”

The camera pans to a man in casual business attire.

“Zane shouldn’t be allowed on the ninja team! All he is is another threat to the citizens of Ninjago. Seriously, weren't we just attacked by an army of nindroids! First, he was dead, then suddenly he’s alive and looking nothing like the real white ninja? He looks just like all those other nindroids to me. He’s a ticking time bomb, I tell ya. He’s working for the nindroid army.”

“Thank you.”

The camera turns away from the man and back to Gayle.

“News just in! It turns out that the Nindroid army was created using the original blueprint of Zane, the white ninja. So Zane, a menace or not? I’m Gayle from Ninjago news. We’ll be back right after these commercials.”

Kai’s mouth was twisted into a grimace of rage.

“How dare they say that!” Kai growls, kicking the coffee table halfway across the room.

“Please don’t destroy the furniture,” Nya sighs, “But I agree with Kai.”

“It’s not fair!” Jay protests, “How could they forget that Zane was the one to save them!”

“They’re just blinded by their own fears,” Lloyd shakes his head.

“This is awful! Just awful!” Jay stamps his foot, hands clenching into fists at his side.

“It fine,” Zane sighs as he stands up.

“It’s not fine!” Kai squawks, “How could you say that?!”

“They were bound to question this anyways. I have always been a robot. It was only a matter of time before they wondered if I could even be trusted,” Zane shrugs, “Now anybody have any preferences for dinner?”

Cole shares a look with the other ninja. They're all worried about how dismissive Zane is acting about the accusations.

“Ya! I want some smoked salmon!” Jay shouts, licking his lips.

He shrinks back as he received several glares from Cole and his teammates. They weren't supposed to let Zane try to change the subject. Zane looks delighted by the opportunity to drop the conversation though.

“I will have to go out to town to purchase some salmon.” Zane thought aloud.

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Cole worries, “I mean, maybe you should avoid going out into public for a bit.”

“Nonsense,” Zane waves his hand dismissively, “We’ve fought the Great Devourer and the Overlord. A couple nervous citizens are nothing to be concerned about.”

 

* * *

 

Zane has gone out about 3 hours ago and has yet to return. Cole was starting to get worried, and he can tell his brothers are too by the way they keep fidgeting and looking at the door. The TV is still on, the five of them staying by it the whole time, wanting to stay updated on the entire situation.

“He’s just a robot.” Another interviewee scoffs on the news, “I mean, I don’t doubt that the ninja are attached to him. Just look around, people are in love with their phones. They can’t stand to be without them. But just like a phone, we grow attached to them because they provide us with benefits. And, just like a phone, Zane can be hacked, controlled, broken into, ect. And when an electronic isn’t useful, you get another one. I say we scrap Zane and get another white ninja. A human one this time.”

Kai growls with disgust, resisting the urge to punch the TV.

“What about you ma’am. What is your opinion on Zane?”

There’s a bunch of shouting, and the camera turns to the commotion. All the ninja gasp. It’s Zane. He’s busy trying to shake off the mob of citizens that are assaulting him. He dislodges a man from his shoulder who falls and gets trampled by the angry crowd around him. The man stands up, sporting a newly busted lip and an already forming black eye.

“See!” He shouts, “The robot is dangerous. We can’t let a monster like this roam in our city, in our streets, in our neighborhoods!”

The mob cheers their agreement, raising their fists and their weapons into the sky. At that moment, Zane manages to break free and tries to run away from the mob. The cameraman is running too, evident from the bouncing of the video. It seems as if he is actually going to get away when a woman steps out from an alleyway wielding a crowbar. She rewinds her arms before leaning into the swing. Zane yelps as it hits him square in the cheek. He stumbles before tripping. He can’t get back on his feet quick enough, and the mob is on him. The clanks, clacks, and clunks can be heard from the video as the crowd starts beating him with mallets, hammers, and any other hard object they can find. The ninja are bound to the screen, scared to take their eyes off it lest something happen.

They all breath a collective sigh of relief as Zane flips above the crowd. He spins twice before getting ready to land on the ground. He’s almost landed when someone sidesteps under him and raises what looks like a taser into the air. Zane flails once before he slams chest first into the weapon. There’s a clicking noise, and Zane twitches a couple times before his eyes dim into a grey color, and his face goes blank. He slumps to the ground, and the crowd starts celebrating. They’re celebrating their beating of one of the heroes they used to honor.

“Should we call the police?” They hear someone whisper off camera, “Do robots even have rights?”

The screen switches to a commercial add. Almost immediately, the ninja are all rushing to the door, summoning their elemental dragons, and soaring into the air. But once they get there, everyone is gone. The mob is no longer in the street, and neither is Zane. The city seems like nothing ever happened.

“Start asking around,” Cole orders, running off to a group of people.

While the others are asking around, Cole pulls his phone out and dials 911. The police are coming, but Cole’s afraid that they are too late. Meanwhile, the rest of the ninja seeming to get nowhere. They all get the same answers. A correlation of “I don’t know” or “We weren’t here when it happened” or just shrugs. They eventually meet back in the center of the street, each looking worn out. Jay bursts into tears, sobbing about how worried he is about Zane. Cole hugs him to his chest, rubbing his back soothingly as he utters assurances that he’s not even sure are true.

The wail of a siren gets louder as the police cars get closer. Soon, they’re two police cars in the street, their lights flashing blue and red in the street. The police are taking the names of the people currently in the street while others are asking around for witnesses. Cole can only sit in a chair of a nearby coffee shop, feeling useless. He holding a hot cup of coffee that had been given to him free of charge and with a sympathetic look from the waiter. His team is sitting around him, sharing similarly solemn expressions. Noises that usually are lost in the sounds of everyday life are suddenly so loud that it’s driving him crazy. Jay’s sniffling quietly, Kai’s nails are clicking as they drum rhythmically against the surface of the table, Nya’s bitting her nails, and Lloyd’s leg is tapping as it bounces up and down. These noises only outline the seconds as they drag on by. Cole wants to shout at everyone to stop, but he knows that he would just be lashing out. Usually, these noises don’t bother him, right now, he would do almost anything to get rid of them.

A police officer steps through the doorway. All of them look expectantly up at him. His face tells them that something terrible had happened. It makes Cole want to sink back into the chair and tell the police officer to go away. Instead, he swarms the officer with the rest of his friends.

“Well?” Jay sniffs.

Cole notes how young Jay looks. Then he realizes how young they really are. They’ve barely even started living their life. They’ve got so much more time together, nothing can happen to Zane.

“You need to come here,” The officer says, his voice level as if he was talking to a panicking child.

They follow the police officer and Cole’s stomach sinks as he’s leading them to an alleyway. They duck under the police tape and the officer motions to the dumpster. They turn to each other, looking into each other’s eyes for support. Lloyd’s the first to start moving forward. He slowly approaches the dumpster before standing on his tiptoes to see over the side. His eyes go wide with shock before his expression freezes. Cole can’t wait any longer and he joining Lloyd. He closes his eyes as he leans over the edge of the dumpster, preparing himself for whatever could possibly see. When he opens them, he almost immediately squeezes them shut again.

He’s clenching his jaws together, crushing a sob in between his teeth. He’s so overwhelmed that he can’t possibly open his eyes and see it again right now. He feels someone brush up next to him as they move to take a peek. Cole focuses on the feeling using it to ground himself. A deep breath in, a deep breath out. He opens his eyes. He’s looking at it again, and he can’t feel anything. He must be so overwhelmed that his emotions can’t even register.

At the bottom of a mostly empty dumpster, among the spare chip bags, straws, plastic bags, and food leftovers, sits Zane. His eyes are open, but they’re grey and unseeing. His face is blank, bearing just as much emotion as a doll. He looks as if he has to sit through a long lecture that he has no interest in. From shoulders down, it only got gruesome. The front panel that made up his chest and stomach had been torn off, quite violently by the jagged edges on what was left. He had been gutted out, some leftover wires hanging out like forgotten pieces of string. Big dents littered his arms and legs, his left arm looking to be in the worst condition of all his limbs. He had no hand or wrist, and the end looked liked it had been put through a blender. Shredded gears and wires were barely together. There was a large slash right above the knee of his right leg, revealing the wiring underneath it.

He releases a sharp breath of air out when Jay collapses into his side, clutching his shirt as he sobs. He hadn’t even realized he had been holding his breath. His thoughts are swarming. A frenzied mix of ‘this can’t be happening’ and ‘how am I even going to be able to live after this’? There’s a loud bang, and Cole looks to his left. Kai clutching his hair, tears streaming down his face. He lets out a scream, kicking the dumpster so hard it leaves a dent in its side. He turns on the surrounding trashcans, punching and kicking as they fly everywhere, spilling out there context across the floor. Nya’s throwing herself at Kai, begging him to stop. Kai sags under Nya’s weight and melts to the floor, hugging his sister. The two siblings clasp each other, holding the other up as they cry.

Lloyd’s soundlessly crying, his head buried into his arms, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Cole should be strong enough to be the leader. To pull them all together, to give them a speech or some other grand gesture that will comfort his teammates, make them feel better, pull them together as a team. But he can’t. He can’t even calm Jay who is holding onto him as if he is the only thing left in the world. Instead, he stands there, arms folded in on each other with his head resting on top of it all. He’s drowning in the absence of his own feelings, in the numbness of it all, in the ‘I’ll wake up, and none of this will have happened’ feeling. How could he have let this happen?

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys like this, maybe I'll post another chapter with a happier ending. Let me know what you think.


End file.
